Hypertext Webster Gateway: "rune"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Rune \Rune\ (r[udd]n), n. [AS. r[=u]n a rune, a secret, a
mystery; akin to Icel. r[=u]n, OHG. & Goth. r[=u]na a secret,
secret colloquy, G. & Dan. rune rune, and probably to Gr.
'ereyna^n to search for. Cf. {Roun} to whisper.]
1. A letter, or character, belonging to the written language
of the ancient Norsemen, or Scandinavians; in a wider
sense, applied to the letters of the ancient nations of
Northern Europe in general.
Note: The Norsemen had a peculiar alphabet, consisting of
sixteen letters, or characters, called runes, the
origin of which is lost in the remotest antiquity. The
signification of the word rune (mystery) seems to
allude to the fact that originally only a few were
acquainted with the use of these marks, and that they
were mostly applied to secret tricks, witchcrafts and
enchantments. But the runes were also used in
communication by writing.
2. pl. Old Norse poetry expressed in runes.
Runes were upon his tongue, As on the warrior's
sword. --Longfellow.
{Rune stone}, a stone bearing a runic inscription.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
rune
n : any character from an ancient Germanic alphabet used in
Scandinavia from the 3rd century to the Middle Ages;
"each rune had its own magical significance" [syn: {runic
letter}]
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